Canada declared that it would apply the Convention only to differences arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not, that were considered commercial under the laws of Canada, except in the case of the Province of Quebec, where the law did not provide for such limitation.

In 1986, Canada enacted legislation based on the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitrationas adopted in 1985 and is therefore now popularly considered to be an UNCITRAL Model Law State

Canada is a Contracting State to both the 1899 & 1907 Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes: